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Motor oil here on Long Isalnd (NY has gotten pricey. It is also hard to buy a case of qts, just these huge 5 qt containers. I was at a big box store and they had Shell Oil for 3.00 a qt, available by the case.

Doing some research trying to find out who makes shell motor oil (shell) I came across a (old 2002) filing for the merger of Shell oil and Penzoil-Quaker state.

Stop the presses.

I like Quaker state, and not a fan of Penzoil. I Like Castrol, but I also found out they became part of BP.

So now I am thinking that all the name brands do not matter for dino oil.

So how do people feel about Shell motor oil then. I know they are the #1 supplier of automotive lubricants in europe, not to sure about the states.

The Justy is on a 3000-4000 mile change interval, and Blu is on a 5000 mile interval.

I'm a tithing member of the church of Amsoil synthetic and Valvoline High Mileage motor oils. I buy Valvoline by the 5qt jug when it's on sale for $20 or so with a Purolator filter. 3000 miles later, (that's about what I get before the ticking starts) I've burned less than 1/2 quart, usually much less, and it comes out molasses/dark brown color. With the current cylinder wall condition in this engine it does smell a bit like fuel. In the old engine (which I regret selling) old oil was the only smell.

Don't know who makes Shell oil, but I would bet you can find out at Bobistheoilguy.com forums.

Dino oil is basically all the same. Get the right weight and change it often.

If you actually *care* about your engine then synthetic is the way to go. Right now the best synthetics are actually the diesel blends as they have the best additive packages for prevention of wear. The reason for this is primarily based on the need for gasoline blended oils to meet manufacture requirements for emissions. Diesel blends need more of the anti-wear additives due to the design constraints of high compression, heat, and pressure as seen in the diesel world.

The most popular blend is Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. Some of the best oil analysis results are being obtained with this blend. It's also pretty cheap for a full synthetic. Often less than $20 a gallon at Walmart.

Ah. Over hear cheapest oil you get is Federated. A little parts store called 9 to 9 auto parts sells it at 3.49 a qt. It's legit stuff. We have a 2000 Chevy k2500 p.u. with a 454 that we have used said oil in since we bought it new with 91 miles on it. Replaced valve cover gaskets at 104000 miles and the heads were still silver. Spotless. I also used the stuff in a 1994 Plymouth grand voyager 3.8. The inside of the engine wasn't perfect put after just 2 oil changes those heads were clean. I know cause I had to do a intake manifold gasket.

I agree.I buy the cheapest oil that meets API standards, and change it often. Usually the cheapest that I can find is Walmart's own brand.

In over 50 years of driving, I've never had a lubrication-related failure.

+1.........I have used Walmart's own brand for the past 10 years with no complaints. I change it about every 3,000 miles. Using fresh clean oil is the best insurance that your engine will run a good long time.

Actually Ivan all oil is not the same. And I'm not talking about the differences between synthetic and conventional. Things you need to look for when checking out oil is the service grade. As of this year the current survice grade is SN. Also be looking on the front of the oil bottles for the starburst symbol. It says American Petroleum Certified around the edges and "For Gasoline Engines" in the center. On the back you wanna look for what's called API Service donut. It states the service grade of the oil, oil viscosity, and may or may not say energy conserving.

Just keep this in mind folks: as long as you use the viscosity rating and service grade (or higher, never lower) that your car calls for and the oil you are buying has the starburst symbol on the front, you are buying a quality oil.

Actually Ivan all oil is not the same. And I'm not talking about the differences between synthetic and conventional. Things you need to look for when checking out oil is the service grade. As of this year the current survice grade is SN. Also be looking on the front of the oil bottles for the starburst symbol. It says American Petroleum Certified around the edges and "For Gasoline Engines" in the center. On the back you wanna look for what's called API Service donut. It states the service grade of the oil, oil viscosity, and may or may not say energy conserving.

Just keep this in mind folks: as long as you use the viscosity rating and service grade (or higher, never lower) that your car calls for and the oil you are buying has the starburst symbol on the front, you are buying a quality oil.

That's mostly rubbish. Marketing and a$$-covering done by lawyers. Much like ASE certification....You can run a wide variety of oils in a Subaru engine and as long as it's changed before it breaks down from heat and is filtered properly the engine will last the usual 300k miles. Take the "for gaslonine engines" bit for example - diesel formulated oils have shown much better oil analysis results in gasoline engines than gasoline blends due to their anti-wear additives - which are not allowed in the gasoline oils due to emissions requirements.

If you want more than that you will have to move to synthetic. And oil changes should reflect the ability of synthetic to resist thermal breakdown for a longer period. Mobil 1 is good - Rottella T6 is better.

have seen more overheated subaru engines probly than anyone else. And the oil is cooked in most and dosent matter what kind of oil. The oil dosent make the engine fail heat do's. Yes synthetic will take more heat but i have seen no proof it increses the life of engine. Less if anything because people think they can leave it longer between oil changes. The engines i tear apart that have run synthetic all there life are way dirtyer inside than the ones that ran conventanal oil. I use quaker 10 -40 or 15-40 deisel oil no 5-30 ever ! and 10 -30 very rarely subarus have always liked heavy oil if you whant it to last anyway. Had a outback wagon 2.5d 420000kms on origanal engine ran wallmart 10-30 its whole life and still runs good and engine was spotless inside mind you it leaked a litre a day but still runing strong.

The most popular blend is Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. Some of the best oil analysis results are being obtained with this blend. It's also pretty cheap for a full synthetic. Often less than $20 a gallon at Walmart.

GD

Rotella T6 is the only thing I buy at Walmart. I use this oil in my air cooled motorcycle, turbo EJ20G and EJ25.

ugh yeah I hate HATE those 5 Qt bottles, I used to buy a case of oil at walmart that was mobile because it was really cheap and they are the smaller 1 Qt kind, I think advance auto still sells by the case.

Very simple, I just buy fully synthetic 5w40 in the API SM class (or SJ and above) from a German manufacturer (Liqui Moli / Megium) in a can of 20 liters.
This because I drive in summer at 30 degrees C, and at -25 C in winter. I change oil every 12500 km with a new filter and never had to add any oil in these 12500 km. The car uses about 300 to 500 ml over this distance interval. Best indications of car problems are oil consumptiion and fuel consumption, if these are low and there are no weird noises or shaking then it is fine.
(gearbox is Valvoline synpower TLD 75w90 just for the record)

I use quaker 10 -40 or 15-40 deisel oil no 5-30 ever ! and 10 -30 very rarely subarus have always liked heavy oil if you whant it to last anyway. Had a outback wagon 2.5d 420000kms on origanal engine ran wallmart 10-30 its whole life and still runs good and engine was spotless inside mind you it leaked a litre a day but still runing strong.

You live in or near Canada what oil you use when it gets colder then -20 C?

ugh yeah I hate HATE those 5 Qt bottles, I used to buy a case of oil at walmart that was mobile because it was really cheap and they are the smaller 1 Qt kind, I think advance auto still sells by the case.

Looks like i may by a case of shell oil then, unless when i go to NJ wheelin this weekend I see something else on sale. Hard to beat 3.00 a qt around here.

I too am one of those who does not buy into the 5k oil changes. Sounds like a marketing strategy to "lower" the operating costs of a vehicle to me. What if they are wrong and just farming engine replacements?

I also don't like "fuel efficient" oil. 0w oil scares me. I see that some drag is lost, but my old fall back is that the 1989 honda crx hf got 49mpg highway. I don't buy that manufacturers have to run light weight oil to get 35-40 mpg.

i use what ever is on sale at a discount when i need it. i need it every 5k miles for each of the 4 or 5 cars i have on the road at the time, it varies.

i have done this since 1982 when i bought an isuzu / chevy luv diesel pickup. and as mentioned above, i have never had a lubricant related failure.

i believe changing it is more important than what you use.

82 isuzu diesel pickup - drove it from 0 miles till the manual trans failed in 1990, miles unknown i just can't remember.
90 nissan pick up - drove it from 0 to 170k miles, still have it - farm use.
93 legacy - drove from 98k to 175k and wrecked it.
95 legacy - drove it from 75k to 165k, replaced the auto trans, my son drove it to 208k at college, sold it this year.
97 outback ltd - drove it from 95k to 145k w/ piston slap and sold it 2 years ago. she wrecked it at college.
97 GT w/ ej22 swap, bought it with 125k (bad ej25) and still driving it at 157k.
97 toyota avalon - my wife has driven it from 62k to 202k and is now talking about replacing it.

i do not recommend recycled motor oil for you car, but using fresh recycled / re-manufactured oil is better than not changing the oil you have now and running it another 3k - 5k.

I will however come up on the defense of oil change intervals. Some cars that have oil quality monitors have so far proven to work very well with no unusual failures. Some engine mfgs have had a big sludge issue in the past. Personally I do 5000 mile changes on modern engines and 3500 on the Justy (carbed) because of his very low capacity, and his poorly designed oil pump.

I do not beleive in oil changes beyond 7500 miles for any car you plan on keeping until the doors fall off.